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[[And Then John Was a Zombie]] is essentially a literal version of [[He Who Fights Monsters]]. It is a situation in which a character, frequently a protagonist, is turned into the very thing he or she has been fighting; a survivor of a [[Zombie Apocalypse]] may get [[The Virus|bitten by a zombie]], a demon hunter may be [[Demonic Possession|possessed]], and so on.
 
A popular variation of this is for protagonists to have this thrust on them as an [[Emergency Transformation]], and/or use (or attempt to use) [[Heroic Willpower]] to avoid the [[Face Heel Turn]] frequently associated with this trope and use the powers [[Cursed Withwith Awesome|for the cause of good]]. Results may vary. Of course, it is also possible for this to happen to villainous characters, [[Humanity Ensues|particularly]] [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|Non-human]] villains, though it is certainly possible for this to happen to human villains, especially in stories where [[The Virus]] has strong presence, but is not the sole villainous force. Depending on the villain and the type of transformation in question, results can and often will vary even more than heroic characters suffering this.
 
If poorly foreshadowed, this can very easily be a [[Shocking Swerve]]. Opposite of [[Tomato in Thethe Mirror]], in which case the main character ''was'' the monster all along. Also contrast [[Can't Stay Normal]]. Compare [[Doomed Protagonist]], in which this was set up as an eventuality (or even a possibility) earlier in the story, [[The Virus]], [[You Will Be Assimilated]], and for variations in which the transformation doesn't force or suggest a [[Face Heel Turn]] on the victim's part, [[Viral Transformation]].
 
'''Examples will contain spoilers!'''
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* In ''[[Shiki]]'', {{spoiler|almost every character ends up as a vampire, including the protagonist}}.
* In ''[[Kakurenbo]]'', the main character wins the game of hide-and-seek by being the last child to be found... and then is given the honor of being the new "it", that is, he becomes a demon himself.
* One of the truly [[Awful Truth|Awful Truths]] that [[Magical Girl|Magical Girls]] have to face in ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Anime)|Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' is that {{spoiler|every magical girl will eventually become a [[Eldritch Abomination|Witch]], the monsters that the magical girls fight throughout the series}}. This is especially illustrated in Episode 8 when this happens to {{spoiler|Sayaka}}.
* In ''[[Shikabane Hime]]'', {{spoiler|Ouri turns out to be part Shikabane}}.
* In "Umineko no Naku Koro Ni" [[EP 5]], "End of the Golden Witch,{{spoiler|Battler, who has been fighting to deny Witches up to this point, becomes a Sorcerer(basically the male equivalent of one) and takes Beatrice's place as the Game Master.}}
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* Some Yu-Gi-Oh cards have images that tell stories. One is the Gagagigo series; it starts as the Gigobyte, who wants to fight monsters... and ends with Gogiga Gagagigo, whose soul has ceased to exist and his body only moves on a drive for power. Then there's Warrior Dai Grepher; the first card of his story shows him and other warriors and spellcasters fighting demonic creatures. Then the series goes on and he becomes Dark Lucius. In Sakuretsu Armor, Dark Lucius [[LV 6]] can be seen striking down some of the people he fought alongside in that first card.
** Gigobyte starts down the road to [[Start of Darkness|evil soulessness]] by modifying himself to get more power to defeat the [[Big Bad|Invader of Darkness]]. Since the story is spread over the flavor texts of many cards over a few different expansions, it doesn't come as too much of a surprise. The compiled story is [http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Trivia:Gagagigo here] if you're interested.
* ''[[Magic: theThe Gathering]]'' gives us Karn, a golem created to fight the Phyrexians. But his heart was a Phyrexian stone, normally used for insta-[[You Have Failed Me]]. This stone contained, like all artifacts of Phyrexian origin, [[From a Single Cell|the oil]], which took hold on Mirrodin. Karn [[Subverted Trope|almost gave in]] to the Praetors' whispers.
** The Innistrad Block has a fetish for these, and with good reason, as the story line has nearly all monstruousities coming from mankind. In particular, "church warrior becomes zombie" seems to be very popular.
 
 
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* The ending of ''[[Thirty30 Days of Night]]'' involves the hero, Eben Oleson, turning himself into a vampire to save his friends. This counts because the vampires invaded to feed, not to create new vampires and the humans (until that point) weren't interested in becoming vampires.
* In the fictional comic book ''Tales of the Black Freighter'', a story within a story from ''[[Watchmen (Comic Bookcomics)|Watchmen]]'', the protagonist {{spoiler|mistakenly bludgeons his wife almost to death while attempting to save her and his family from undead pirates. The pirates only want him though, and the story ends ambiguously with the protagonist either being killed by the pirates or becoming one. His last words are 'I was a horror; amongst horrors must I dwell'.}}
 
 
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== [[Fan Works]] ==
* This trope is named for the legendary [[Cruel Twist Ending]] of the fanfic ''[[Doom Repercussions of Evil (Fanfic)|Doom: Repercussions of Evil]]'', wherein John Stalvern, who has spent the story fighting demons, becomes a zombie himself. (Or possibly was a [[Tomato in Thethe Mirror|zombie from the beginning]], fooled by Satanic illusions into seeing humans as demons. It's not [[Mind Screw|totally clear]].)
** [http://fanfictionredux.ytmnd.com/ Now with dramatic reading -- brought to you by YTMND.]
** [http://inuscreepystuff.blogspot.com/2010/09/doom-repercussions-of-evil-less-lulzy.html This] beautiful piece is a rewritten version that both triples (or something) the length of the original story AND gives it a better feel overall. Still not as good as the original, though.
** And then there's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGkrrT1VtsU this version (at 6:49)]
* [[Arby 'n' the Chief]]: And then, JOHN WAS THE ALIENS!
* In the ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (Filmanimation)|How to Train Your Dragon]]'' fic ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6095775/1/ Cursed]'', Hiccup {{spoiler|turns into a Night Fury}}.
* In the ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' fangame ''Bluebird's Illusion'', Ed becomes a homunculus in one of the endings.
 
 
== Film ==
* ''[[Halloween (Filmfilm)|Halloween]] 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' had this at the end with the little girl holding Michael's butcher knife, implying that she has become the new killer.
* The [[Re Cut|Producer's Cut]] of ''[[Halloween (Filmfilm)|Halloween]]: The Curse of Michael Myers'' ended with Dr. Loomis being marked with the [[The Corruption|Curse of Thorn]] to imply that he would carry on Michael's taint. This was one of many things dropped in the theatrical version, although this one happened because [[Donald Pleasence]] died.
* At the end of the ''~30 Days Of Night~'' movie, the protagonist has to become a vampire in order to fight off the vampires that have been eating everyone. {{spoiler|He dies very shortly thereafter due to watching the sunrise with his girlfriend (so he'll die and not eat anyone).}}
* In the ''[[Doom]]'' movie, Reaper is dying and his sister subjects him to the chromosome which had turned everyone else into monsters. [[Deus Ex Machina|Luckily]] (and perhaps subverting this trope) he is among the small percent of humans who ''don't'' turn into monsters when exposed to it and instead become 'angels'.
** Arguably played straight by the "[[Decoy Protagonist|protagonist]]" Sarge turning into a demon.
* In the end of [[Roman Polanski]]'s 1967 film ''[[The Fearless Vampire Killers (Film)|The Fearless Vampire Killers]]'' (and the subsequent 1997 musical adaptation, ''[[Tanz Derder Vampire]]''), {{spoiler|the protagonists rescue the heroine from a pack of blood thirsty vampires, only to have her tun into one and attack the "hero" of the film at the very end.}}
* The 1970 film ''[[Count Yorga|Count Yorga Vampire]]'' has this three-fold, {{spoiler|One of the protaganist's friends falls victim to Yorga becoming the third of his vampire brides. One of the brides is the mother of the female characters (at the start she had recently died mysteriously) and lastly near the said female character turns into a vampire and lunges at the hero of the film just as he rescues her from the clutches of the vampire villain and his undead brides.}}
** A reversal of the kind of ending mentioned above occurs in the 1971 sequel, ''The Return of Count Yorga'', {{spoiler|when the hero of the film turns into a vampire just at the very end just as they kill your and attacks the girl he was trying to save, dooming her to a life of undeath in the end after narrowly avoiding it.}}
* A homage to the endings described above occurs in the 1996 ''[[Tales From the Crypt (TV)|Tales Fromfrom the Crypt]]'' movie, ''Bordello of Blood''.
* A similar ending occurs in the 1983 film ''[[Halloween III: Season of the Witch]]''.
* [[Ken Russell]]'s 1988 film ''[[The Lair of the White Worm]]'' also concludes in a similar fashion.
* Occurs in ''[[Dragon Ball Evolution]]'' when Goku turns into the Oozaru, said to be an unstoppable servant of Piccolo, after having spent the movie determined to defeat Oozaru. Only after {{spoiler|killing Roshi}} does he get out of it. This is not the case in the original source material, where the Oozaru is not mentioned until Goku transforms for the first time.
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* [[David Cronenberg]]'s ''Shivers''...and then Dr. Saint-Luke was Infected. Ironically, David Cronenberg considers this a ''happy'' ending, as he's said the Infected are happy and free of their inhibitions, and at the end they're about to {{spoiler|share their newfound freedom [[Utopia Justifies the Means|with the whole world]]}}.
* The uber-creepy 1978 film of ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]'' ends with Veronica Cartwright's character approaching Donald Sutherland's character (he was the protagonist). As she calls out to him, he wheels around, points at her, and emits an inhuman wail (sort of the Pod People's call to arms).
* At the ending of ''[[The Thing (Filmfilm)|The Thing]]'', it appears as though the Thing was killed in an explosion. However, Mac and Childs are still around, and it's not revealed whether or not they had been infected, leaving them to wait and see what happens.
* All the alternative endings of ''[[The Ruins]]'' show the [[Final Girl]] succumbing to the evil {{spoiler|plant spores}} in some way, while it is suggested in the theatrical one.
* At the end of ''[[The Chronicles of Riddick]]'', Riddick {{spoiler|kills the Grand Marshall and becomes the new leader of the necromongers}}, which was foreshadowed ''very'' strongly early on, {{spoiler|when Riddick is told that the Necromonger way was [[You Kill It, You Bought It|"You keep what you kill".]]}}
* In ''[[Timecrimes]]'', Hector gets stabbed in the arm and chased through the forest by a man in a black coat with his head covered by bandages. Then he travels backwards in time an hour, cuts his head, and begins bandaging the cut. Realizing that he's in a [[Stable Time Loop]], Hector completely wraps his head in bandages, then takes a pair of scissors and attacks his past self, deliberately causing the series of events that led to his climbing into the time machine an hour ago.
* In the 1990 remake to ''[[Night of the Living Dead]]'' Ben is badly wounded by Cooper during the night and as a last resort locks himself in the basement against the zombie horde. When we last see him, the door seems to be holding, but Ben has no supplies and his wound is worsening. When Patricia returns the next day with a group of locals, they eventually manage to open the door to the basement, and encounter the now zombified Ben.
* At the end of ''[[Candyman (Film)|Candyman]]'' the heroine becomes a Candywoman.
* At the end of ''[[Vampire Assassin]]'', the protagonist becomes a vampire.
* Near the end of ''[[Undead or Alive (Film)|Undead or Alive]]'' Elmer makes the mistake of punching an infectious zombie in the mouth, and almost immediately realizes that he is beginning to turn. While he uses the last few moments before the hunger overwhelms him to attempt to make a Heroic Sacrifice, he succumbs in the end, infecting one companion and convincing him to help devour another.
* ''[[Skyline (Film)|Skyline]]'' has {{spoiler|Jarrod's brain installed into an alien, only for his [[Heroic Willpower]] to grant him control over that alien instead of just becoming its CPU}}.
* And then, the [[Star Wars|Jedi]] Anakin Skywalker became the evil Sith Lord, Darth Vader.
* {{spoiler|Needy}} becomes part-demon after surviving Jennifer's attack in ''[[Jennifer's Body]]''.
* In the final scene of the movie ''[[Dead GirlDeadgirl]]'' we find out that the main character has become a {{spoiler|[[Double Standard Rape (Sci Fi)|zombie]] [[Dude, She's Like, in Aa Coma|rapist]]}} despite spending the entire movie trying to dissuade his friends from doing the exact same thing.
 
 
== Literature ==
* In ''[[John Dies Atat the End]]'', it is revealed in the penultimate chapters of the book that somewhere along the course of the story, {{spoiler|Dave has been replaced with a "monster" version of himself}}, becoming the very doppelganger that part of the story's arc has revolved around. Considering the character John {{spoiler|neither dies nor suffers Dave's fate of becoming that which they fought}}, this could be a subversion. Especially likely considering the writer is Cracked Editor [[One of Us|David Wong]].
* In ''[[Necroscope]]'', vampirisation happens to the good guys every now and again. Eventually, {{spoiler|Harry Keogh is subject to this as well}}.
* In ''[[Hater]]'' by David Moody, the main character {{spoiler|becomes a Hater about three-quarters of the way into the book, after a prolonged struggle to defend himself and his family from them.}}
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* ''[[Shinigami God of Death]]'' by Django Wexler has the younger of two sisters {{spoiler|bring her mother and her older sister back to life, using the same method the Lightbringer did. Unfortunately, this causes her to be imprisoned as he was.}}
* ''[[Animal Farm]]'' ends with {{spoiler|the pigs coming to resemble human farmers so closely that the other animals find it hard to tell them apart from humans--they even begin to walk on two legs, wear human clothes, and carry whips. This is a rather [[Anvilicious]] commentary on how [[Full-Circle Revolution|many revolutionary leaders become as corrupt and oppressive as the leaders they overthrew, if not more so.]]}}
* ''[[Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter]]'' has the twist ending of...well, guess.
* ''[[Goosebumps]]'':
** In ''[[Our Werewolves Are Different|The Werewolf of Fever Swamp]]'', {{spoiler|the werewolf bites the hero, passing the curse onto him.}}
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* The end of ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' season three seems to apply to Dean {{spoiler|once he finds out that demons are ex-humans. He also gets tortured enough in hell so that he finally breaks and starts torturing others and enjoying it because it isn't him.}}.
** By the end of season four, {{spoiler|this trope applies to Sam. No, Sam,}} you are the demons.
** Used again with {{spoiler|Gordon, who started out as a vampire hunter and is eventually captured and turned by a group of them.}}
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* In the 1986 ''[[Twilight Zone]]'' episode "Monsters!", the presence of a (kind-natured) vampire in their neighborhood causes every normal person in suburbia to temporarily mutate into a pack of gruesome monsters that kill the vampire - afterwards, they're horrified at the murder, never realizing that they were the monsters.
* In ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]'', this happens to {{spoiler|AU![[Kamen Rider Hibiki|Hibiki]].}} In fact, this trope is a common theme throughout the ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' franchise, although the difference is that they ''were'' the "zombies" in the first place or take the source of their power from the very monsters they fight.
** For a straight example, the earlier titular ''[[Kamen Rider Blade]]'', {{spoiler|by virtue of overtaxing his use of his [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique|King Form]] (which uses the powers of all the [[Monster of the Week|Undead]] he has captured), is already slowly becoming a Joker-type Undead himself.}} In order to prevent [[The End of the World Asas We Know It|the impending apocalypse a single remaining Joker Undead would cause]], {{spoiler|he chose to [[Heroic Sacrifice|go through it and transform into an Undead himself]], putting the apocalypse on deadlock.}}
* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "Survival" has this as the major plotpoint.
* ''[[Are You Afraid of the Dark?]]'': In "The Tale of the Chameleons", Janice gets turned into a chameleon and drowned in a well, and her [[Evil Twin]] plans to do the same to her friend and the rest of her family.
* ''[[The Vampire Daries]]'' does this multiple times. First with Caroline's {{spoiler|dad who choses not to complete the transformations}} and later with {{spoiler|Alaric who is turned into an Original Vampire just to become the world's greatest vampire hunter.}}
 
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== [[Music]] ==
* [[Black Sabbath (Music)|Black Sabbath]]'s "Iron Man." Through a [[Stable Time Loop]], a man travels to the future and witnesses [[The End of the World Asas We Know It]] at the hands of the titular villain, then travels back in time to warn people about the coming threat, but in the process is transformed into Iron Man himself.
 
 
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* The end result in ''[[Changeling: The Lost (Tabletop Game)|Changeling: The Lost]]'' for changelings whose [[Sanity Meter|Clarity]] gets too low and their [[Power Levels|Wyrd]] too high. They leave for Arcadia and become exactly the same as the monster who kidnapped and abused them in the first place.
** [[White Wolf]] in general is in love with this trope, as it is likely to come into play in both versions [[Vampire: The Masquerade (Tabletop Game)|of]] [[Vampire: The Requiem|Vampire]] [[Hunter: The Reckoning|and]] [[Hunter: The Vigil|Hunter]], old [[Wraith: The Oblivion|Wraith]], [[Kindred of the East]], and ''[[Demon: The Fallen (Tabletop Game)|Demon: The Fallen]]''. It is also possible in [[Mage: The Ascension (Tabletop Game)|both]] [[Mage: The Awakening|Mages]], [[Werewolf: The Apocalypse (Tabletop Game)|Werewolf: The Apocalypse]], [[Changeling: The Dreaming]], and [[Orpheus]]. The list just goes on....
* [[Warhammer]] and [[Warhammer 40000 (Tabletop Game)|Warhammer 40000]] use this trope heavily. In 40k, it is [[Turned Up to Eleven]], where not only do you turn into a demon, but you also have a good chance of winding up causing the deaths of billions. The pen and paper RPGS [[Dark Heresy]] and [[Rogue Trader]] feature extensive rules on corruption by the Ruinious Powers just to fit this trope.
* This is a quite common fate for any investigator in [[Call of Cthulhu]], ranking perhaps just below "killed by horrible monster existing in fourteen dimensions at once," "lab rat or soul-in-a-jar for horrible monster," "spends remainder of his or her life eating cockroaches in a padded cell," and "gets brain stolen by horrible monster."
* Subverted in [[The Whispering Vault]]: People who investigate the [[Eldritch Abomination|Unbidden]] and survive tend to be turned into [[Humanoid Abomination|Stalkers]]...but given how a Stalker's entire purpose is to [[Dark Is Not Evil|protect reality from Unbidden and retain most of their human personality]], this comes off more as a transhumanist reward.
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== [[Theater]] ==
* Alfred, the assistant vampire hunter in ''[[Tanz Derder Vampire]]'', becomes an undead bloodsucker himself at the end of the show. Worse, the vampire that turns him is none other than Sarah, the girl he loves and was trying to save. However, in the Musical this isn't depicted as especially bad, as due to sympathy-songs etc. the spectators are expected to have sympathy with the vampires and the only one really wanting to kill vampires was the professor.
 
 
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Blizzard seems to love the trope.
** At the end of ''[[Diablo]]'', the hero defeats the titular boss and jams its [[Sealed Evil in Aa Can|soulstone]] in his/her own forehead to contain it. This results in {{spoiler|the hero becoming the new [[Big Bad]] in ''Diablo 2''.}} This was later [[Retcon|retconned]] in ''Diablo 2'' by saying that said hero was more or less [[Mind Rape|mindraped]] into doing so.
** It's uncertain how long [[Hero of Another Story|Tal Rasha]] held out containing Baal this way, but considering the Diablo 2 expansion, it's probably safe to say that anyone who fights demons succumbs to this in some degree.
*** And again in Diablo 3. Leah, niece of Deckard Cain starts off as a genuinely [[Lawful Good]] character. Then she finds out that {{spoiler|her Mom is an evil witch, and her dad is the wanderer from Diablo 2. She becomes corrupted by the soulstone after capturing a few more demons in to it (thus becoming an even more powerful version of) Diablo herself.}}
** In ''[[Starcraft]]'', Kerrigan fights the Zerg during the Terran campaign but becomes one during the Zerg campaign. {{spoiler|[[Dark Action Girl|She]] [[Starcraft II (Video Game)|gets]] better.}}
** Similarly, Arthas and Illidan in ''[[War CraftWarcraft]] III''. Note that in the cases of Kerrigan and Arthas, the trope is in that they become leaders of the factions that they opposed, not those that they first joined.
*** Sylvannas fights Arthas' undead right up to the point where she was killed and resurrected as a banshee.
** A playable example: No, warlock. [http://www.wowhead.com/spell=59672 You ''are'' the demons.]
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** [[Silent Hill 3]] uses this trope earlier, when Vincent {{spoiler|tells Heather she has beeen killing people, not monsters, making ''her'' the [[Complete Monster]] and possessed demon.}} This being [[Silent Hill]], whether or not he is telling the truth is deliberately left vague.
** In the [[Multiple Endings|worst ending]] of ''[[Silent Hill Homecoming]]'', Alex becomes a Pyramid Head.
** In ''[[Silent Hill: Downpour]]'', {{spoiler|Murphy becomes the Bogeyman for the final fight. It's not permanent, though, assuming you choose to spare Anne.}}
* ''[[Disgaea 2 Cursed Memories (Video Game)|Disgaea 2 Cursed Memories]]'s'' [[Multiple Endings|worst ending]] features this. ''In spades''. To elaborate, if Adell has met the required conditions, {{spoiler|Rozalin, the ''real'' Overlord Zenon, will inform you that you too are her enemy. If you are victorious, Zenon's evil will consume Adell's soul. His first act as the new God Of All Overlords? To devour his younger brother and sister, bones and all.}} Cue crunching sounds.
* The ''good'' ending of ''[[Eversion]]'' turns your character into {{spoiler|an [[Eldritch Abomination]] just like the princess you're out to save.}} The bad ending has {{spoiler|you resisting this and getting eaten by the princess.}}
** Unless, of course, {{spoiler|[[Tomato Surprise|you already were an eldritch abomination all along.]]}}
* In ''[[La Pucelle (Video Game)|La Pucelle]]'', if you defeat certain powerful enemies in the Dark World/Netherworld (which requires a lot of [[Level Grinding]]), a band of demons will appear and declare Prier their new ruler... which Prier [[Subverted Trope|rejects out of annoyance]] after being teased by her teammates, and [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|the game continues anyway, ignoring this interruption]]. However, if she continues on past that, becoming even stronger, she triggers a [[Nonstandard Game Over]] as the demons make her their new ruler for good and her friends abandon her. Prier being a demon queen is ''the [[Canon]] ending'', as she puts in several appearances in the [[Disgaea]] series as "Demon Overlord Prier," a powerful optional character, as a half-demon with wings and a horn.
** Curiously, the plot [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|still ignores this.]] Until the [[Updated Rerelease]] for the PSP, that is.
* Possible example: In ''[[Quake IV (Video Game)4|Quake IV]]'', at a particular point that marks roughly the midpoint of the game, the protagonist is converted into a Strogg in all but allegiance. Were it not for a very well timed raid by the good guys, our hero would have crossed the point of no return, as he was almost the entire way through the [[Painful Transformation|conversion process]] by that point. He then became a [[Phlebotinum Rebel]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3clVvh5gbGE&feature=related Wanna see?]
* The Bydo ''love'' pulling this on humanity's heroes in the ''[[R-Type]]'' series.
** It first happens in ''R-Type Delta'', if the player is piloting the R-13 Cerebrus--that particular fighter proves incapable of escaping the final level, and the Bydo exact revenge by converting the ship and its pilot into a tree-like Bydo.
** Then there's ''R-Type FINAL'', in which one of the [[Multiple Endings]] leads to the player getting converted into a hybrid Bydo/human/R9-Series...[[Biological Mashup|thing]]...and is sent back to the ''first level of the game,'' fighting both the Bydo as well as its former comrades. (It's worth noting that at the start of the game, you can ''see'' your future Bydo self [[Stable Time Loop|fly by at the very start of the level]]!)
** ''R-Type Command'' also pulls this ''on an entire human fleet'' at the end of the Human campaign--in fact, the player's character in the subsequent Bydo campaign is the former human commander. In both the case of ''FINAL'' and ''Command'', the player's characters ''have no idea that they're no longer human'' and can't understand why Earth's forces are out to get them.
* In the end of ''[[Super Paper Mario (Video Game)|Super Paper Mario]]'', Luigi ends up as part of Dimentio's plan and pilots a giant robot before being cured by Mario. It ''was'' implied something might happen to Luigi a few minutes before that, though.
* In ''[[Castlevania 64 (VideoNintendo Game64)|Castlevania 64]]'s'' [[Downer Ending]], you get this on two levels; a side character, Vincent the vampire killer, becomes a vampire. Also, Carrie agrees to marry Malus (Dracula), to which he ominously notes that they have "a binding contract".
** [[Castlevania Lords of Shadow (Video Game)|Castlevania: Lords of Shadow]]: {{spoiler|"EU SUNT DRACUL (I AM DRACUL)!"}}
** If you unlock the true ending path of ''[[Castlevania: Chronicles of Sorrow (Video Game)|Aria of Sorrow]]'', then upon defeating {{spoiler|Grahm Jones}}, who has declared himself Dracula's reincarnation, {{spoiler|Soma himself}} is revealed to ''actually'' be the reincarnation of Dracula. And if you get the bad ending, by losing to the [[True Final Boss]], then he quite literally becomes the "second coming" of Dracula, in mind as well as ability.
* In ''[[Gemcraft (Video Game)|Gemcraft]]'' Chapter 0, the force you're trying to claim takes over, but it's a prequel and the truth was fairly obvious based on the events of the first game.
* The ending of ''[[Fable (Videovideo Gamegame series)|Fable]]: The Lost Chapters'' gives you the option of putting on Jack's mask, becoming his new host.
* Both ''[[Baten Kaitos (Video Game)|Baten Kaitos]]'' games use this, albeit in very different ways.
* In the end of ''[[Resistance Fall of Man|Resistance 2]]'', {{spoiler|Nathan Hale fully mutates into a chimera.}}
* Happens in ''[[Prince of Persia]]: Warrior Within'', when the Prince puts on the mask and finds himself transformed into the Sand Wraith. This makes him not only a monster but a doomed monster, as he saw the Dahaka kill the Sand Wraith in the past. Fortunately, he is ultimately able to [[Screw Destiny]] and return to his normal self.
** And played straight in ''[[Prince of Persia]]: Two Thrones'', where the prince is partially turned into a sand monster, complete with [[Heroic Willpower]] and a light sprinkling with a [[Gollum Made Me Do It]]-voice, though that seems to be there more to be defied than blamed.
* ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro Ni (Visual Novel)|Umineko no Naku Koro Nini]]''. EP5. {{spoiler|Battler, you may have forgot, but you were supposed to deny witches, not become one.}}
* The worse endings of ''[[Bio ShockBioshock]]'' have you becoming just as much of a monster as Andrew Ryan {{spoiler|and Frank Fontaine.}}
** Also done to a degree earlier. In order to complete the game it's necessary to {{spoiler|be converted into a Big Daddy, the most dangerous and iconic enemies of Rapture}}.
* ''[[Shadow of the Colossus]]'' has Wander gradually [[The Corruption|becoming less human]], and ends with Wander becoming a new version of Dormin's body ({{spoiler|which is what the Colossi originally are}}) himself. It fails, and he reverts to human form, but [[Came Back Wrong|as a newborn with demon characteristics]]. It's heavily implied that he becomes the ancestor of the horned boys in ''[[ICO (Video Game)|ICOIco]]'' this way.
* At the end of the second act of ''[[Marathon (Video Game)Trilogy|Marathon]]: RED'' (a [[Game Mod]]), the hero is mutated by [[The Virus]], and his former allies turn against him for a stage, but he turns [[Phlebotinum Rebel]].
* In ''[[Chzo Mythos|6 Days a Sacrifice]]'', the main character, Theo DaCabe, {{spoiler|is turned into the mindless servant 'The New Prince' by Chzo after the old servant Cabadath tries to betray him, because Cabadath didn't want to be replaced.}}
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYNtx8E-vQE&fmt=18 The ending] of the incredibly obscure computer game ''THE SCREAMER''. (Yes, it really is in all caps like that.)
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* At the end of ''Apocalypse'', Bruce Willis's character is [[Demonic Possession|demonically possessed]].
* In the end of ''[[Alone in The Dark]] 2008'', [[Morton's Fork|either Carnby or Sarah]] becomes a demon of Lucifer.
* In ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', Sora {{spoiler|[[Heroic Sacrifice|impales himself with Riku's Dark Keyblade in order to free Kairi's heart]], releasing her from her catatonic state. In the process, he becomes a Heartless ''and'' creates two Nobodies: Roxas (himself) and Naminé (Kairi). Of course, it doesn't stick, Kairi leads him back to the light, but in ''[[Kingdom Hearts II (Video Game)|Kingdom Hearts II]]'', you will occasionally turn into Anti-Sora when activating a Drive Form.}}
** ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep (Video Game)|Birth by Sleep]]'': {{spoiler|By continuing to use the darkness, Terra's heart is weakened. The straw that broke the camel's back was [[Complete Monster|Master Xehanort]] orchestrating Terra's [[Rage Against the Mentor|emotionally-supercharged duel with Master Eraqus]] and then [[Shoot the Dog|killing a weary Eraqus just as he and Terra were calming down from and remorsing over their fight]]. When Terra gives into his [[Unstoppable Rage|rage]], unleashing the full extent of his inner darkness, Xehanort uses this as the perfect opportunity to [[Grand Theft Me|take over Terra's body]]. Thus, Terra has become the one thing he's hated the most: ''Xehanort himself''. [[Tragic Hero|Luckily for him]], [[The Woobie|and several others across the series' timeline, including his close friends Ventus and Aqua]], [[Messianic Archetype|Sora]] [[Earn Your Happy Ending|is going to earn a happy ending for them]].}}
* Halfway through the [[First-Person Shooter]] ''Area51'', your character gets mutated; this is also a case of [[Phlebotinum Rebel]].
** The other ''Area51'' (the [[Light Gun Game]]) has this on the [[Game Over]] screen, which also happens to be the Game Clear screen.
* Happens at the end of ''[[God of War (Video Gameseries)|God of War]]'', as amusingly portrayed in [http://coelasquid.deviantart.com/art/God-of-War-Abridged-137533787?offset=20 this comic strip.]
* In the final installment of ''[[Xenosaga (Video Game)|Xenosaga]]'', one of the many antagonists, Dmitri Yuriev, tries to conquer his fear of God by becoming a god himself {{spoiler|using the Zohar and Abel inside Omega Res Novae}}. It works, of course{{spoiler|, but then his clone/son who is supposed to be dead, Albedo, pops up and takes it all away. Makes one wonder...}}
* In [[Streets of Rage]], the player is one of three ex-police officers finding themselves duty-bound to stop the assorted crimes of [[Let X Be the Unknown|Mr. X]], a powerful crime kingpin. In the final level, Mr. X offers to make you and your co-op partner into his right-hand men. If one player accepts and one refuses, Mr. X sits back and watches while you and your former partner solve the disagreement [[Violence Really Is the Answer|the only way they can.]] If the "heroic" player loses the fight, the remaining player goes on to fight Mr. X, and if successful...[http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c269/StormEagle14963/streetsofrage_screen6.png No, Axel, You Are The Crime Lord.]
** Possible again in the fan remake for any character, including {{spoiler|Mr. Freakin' X. Paradox anyone?}}
* ''Beyond [[Dark Castle]]'': And then Prince Duncan was the [[Black Knight]].
* ''[[Dead Space: Extraction (Video Game)|Dead Space Extraction]]'': {{spoiler|In the first chapter, you play as one of the soon-to-be necromorphs and unknowingly kill all your comrades.}}
** {{spoiler|Then at the end of the game one of the main characters turns into a necromorph too.}}
* In ''[[Legacy of Kain]]: Soul Reaver 2'', it turns out that {{spoiler|the Soul Reaver is in fact Raziel's soul, which was absorbed into the original blood stealing "Reaver" and driven insane from being trapped for hundreds of years.}} And that he is doomed to fulfill this fate over and over again {{spoiler|at least until Kain creates a paradox and saves him... until ''Defiance'' when Raziel willingly becomes the Soul Reaver, purified of any corrupting influence.}} In true mind-breaking ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'' style, this is ''also'' [[Tomato in Thethe Mirror]]. There's a [[Tomato in Thethe Mirror]] ''because'' John became a zombie at the end.
* At the end of ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'''s ''[[Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare|Undead Nightmare]]'' story, the main character returns from the dead as one of those zombies he has spend the whole game fighting (thankfully, due to some special circumstances, he turns out to be a sentient one). And the character's name? ''John'' Marston. The Achievement for completing the game directly quotes the [[Trope Namer]].
* Happens in the end of [[Throne of Darkness]], to the [[Magnificent Seven Samurai]]. After defeating the Dark Warlord, their feudal lord reveals that {{spoiler|he only wanted you to retrieve the [[Applied Plebothium|immortality potion]].}} {{spoiler|He then drinks the potion, transforms into the next dark warlord, kills his own servants (the player's part) and brings them back as zombies}}.
* In the [[Nonstandard Game Over]] of ''[[Metroid Prime]] 3'', Samus is "terminally corrupted" and turns into Dark Samus.
* In Oersted's chapter of ''[[Live a Live]]'', he spends most of the chapter trying to vanquish the Demon King. Then, {{spoiler|after everyone around him either dies, betrays him, or turns against him due to a ''really big'' misunderstanding,}} he decides to ''become'' the Demon King, thus setting the stage for the rest of the game.
* This is the bad ending of ''[[The Breach]]''. {{spoiler|After the most recent update, it's the ''only'' ending.}}
* In ''[[Portal 2 (Video Game)|Portal 2]]'', you spend the first half of the game with a robotic sphere named Wheatley trying to defeat GLaDOS. {{spoiler|Guess what happens to Wheatley?}}
* In the escape-the-room game [http://www.freewebarcade.com/game/poco-escape/ Poco Escape], {{spoiler|you wake up locked in a room that's sparse except for a few pictures of adorable little bears, which are naturally slightly creepy considering the circumstances. The ending heavily implies that you are actually the girl's teddy bear.}}
* In the [[Multiple Endings|bad ending]] of the first ''[[Kid Icarus (Video Game)|Kid Icarus]]'' game, Pit is turned into a monster. Oddly, it's ''[[Ungrateful Bastard|Palutena]]'' that does it to him. Maybe this is really supposed to be the joke ending?
* The backstory of Byakuren Hijiri in ''[[Touhou (Video Game)|Touhou]] 12'' is this played sympathetically; originally a youkai-hunting priestess, Byakuren came to appreciate her youkai allies more than her human ones, and that combined with the fear of death drove her to transform herself into a youkai. Sanae recieves a warning that [[He Who Fights Monsters|she who hunts youkai]] may become one, as well. In her profile, it's mentioned that Alice was a human who became a youkai to pursue power. In supplementary materials, Marisa is confirmed to experiment with methods of gaining immortality, but in one game she refuses to eat an immortal person's liver to get it. Reimu also has that option, and doesn't balk at the ''method'' so much as the idea of becoming anything remotely inhuman.
* In ''[[The World Ends With You (Video Game)|The World Ends With You]]'', after several days of battling Noise, {{spoiler|Rhyme}} undergoes an [[Emergency Transformation]] and eventually manifests as one. Subverted slightly in that the transformation only serves to introduce her as a [[Living MacGuffin]], rather than invoking any [[Internal Conflict Tropes]] on her part.
* In [[Dungeons of Dredmor (Video Game)|Dungeons of Dredmor]], the first 3 levels of Demonologist give you resistance to [[Light Is Not Good|Righteous damage]], and useful powers when fighting demons. Any further than that, and you lose all that resistance in exchange for more versatile moves. What's the name of the penultimate level, giving you a chance to transform in to a literal combat monster? [[Shout-Out|'No, you are the demons']].
* Happens in ''[[Metal Slug]] 2/X'' and ''3'', with MS2/X setting the players against mummies, and MS3 being the literal trope. {{spoiler|The clones of your abducted comrade? They join in on the fun, too!}}
* Happens in one of Kichikuou Rance's endings, where Rance, depressed either for Sill's death or absence (if the player is taking too long in rescuing her) finally gives in to Satera's suggestions of becoming the Demon King, committing immediately after a [[Moral Event Horizon]] {{spoiler|cruelly killing poor Miki, who, crushed by the betrayal, lets herself be hacked during hours, since she's ''that'' tough.}} Then he becomes a powerful Demon King, who crushes without trouble the human nations, with Satera at his side.
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== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Family Guy]]'s'' parody of ''[[Lost]]'' - "We are the island!"
* Finn and Jake of ''[[Adventure Time (Animation)|Adventure Time]]'' are both turned by the end of "Trouble in Lumpy Space". They got better.
** Also in the ''Adventure Time'' episode "Mortal Folly/Mortal Recoil" Princess Bubblegum sends Finn and Jake to fight the Lich. In the end Bubblegum is turned into the Lich's vessel.
* Parodied in ''[[Invader Zim]]'' in the episode "Balonius Maximus" in which the title character and Dib transform into bologna. The [[DVD Commentary]] hangs a lampshade on this.
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